Director General of Water in Jeddah, Abdullah Al-Assaf, said new water loading locations will be set up to relieve water-tanker congestion at the Tahlia and Ain Al-Aziziah filling stations. “Fourteen new (filling) stations will be completed within a month and will start operating before Ramadan,” he told Al-Madina Arabic daily. Future plans are set for 40 new filling stations in the Old Airport district. Al-Assaf said tankers are still a vital part of the water network in the Kingdom because many parts of the city are still not connected to the water network. Additionally many areas have a higher than average rate of water consumption so the extra water must be taken in trucks in order to meet demand. As part of the restructuring plan, the Ministry of Water has made administrative changes to facilitate better distribution of water, Al-Assaf said. One example is a system to periodically maintain equipment so as to allow uninterrupted movement of trucks. Water-pumping operations in disadvantaged districts such as Al-Nahda and Al-Safa will be restarted. An additional gate to the Tahlia water-filling station will be opened to step up the flow of tankers. The road leading to the station will be repaved to remove the deep water-filled holes along the stretch. Other recent improvements have contributed to decrease the waiting time for tankers at the station. Currently the tanker line extends to the main road on most days. A new water-pumping schedule will also be put into effect whereby northern districts of Jeddah will receive water every 12 days. Southern districts will receive water every 15 days, cutting down the interval by 5 days in these areas.
